An Unstoppable Team: You and Me Against the World
by 0nlyInFiction
Summary: Marinette can't help feeling alone. Luckily, Adrien is ready to be there. "Cat Noir and I, we're an unstoppable team!" "You and me against the world, My Lady!"
1. Chapter 1

For once, Ladybug's luck seemed to have rubbed off on Marinette. She was able to make it to class on time this morning, and she was hoping she could talk with her friends a little bit. But they were gathered around Lila's seat, enthralled by her tall tales. So Marinette sat alone, waiting for the class to start.

Adrien came through the door and took his seat in front of Marinette.

"Good morning, Marinette! Glad to see you here so early," he greeted, before taking a glance at the group gathered around Lila. "I guess Lila got an early start too."

"Hi, Adrien," she replied, with a nervous giggle. "Hey, I wanted to ask you before class started. Do you think you could come over to my house for lunch today? I wanted to talk to you about something."

Adrien took a moment to look at her and take in her facial expression before he answered, "Sure, I'd love to." He gave her a smile as Ms. Bustier walked into the classroom.

"Alright, class. I wanted to go over quite a few concepts today, so please take your seats and turn to page 148." The class slowly made their way to their seats.

"Girl, did my eyes deceive me, or were you having a normal conversation with Adrien?" Alya asked, as she slid into her seat.

"Um, yeah. I actually invited him over for lunch today so we could talk."

"Seriously? Finally! Just remember to keep calm, breathe, and take your time putting your sentences together."

"Right. I just have to prepare myself for the rejection."

"Marinette, don't psych yourself out. Just relax and you'll be fine. And remember to share the details with me and the girls!"

"Alya, is there a problem?" called Ms. Bustier.

"Uh, I'm all good!"

* * *

Adrien made his way to the front steps of the school and saw Marinette chatting with Luka. He was about to approach them, when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Adrien, I'm glad I caught you! I wanted to go over—"

"Hey, Lila," Adrien interrupted, gently pulling his arm from her grasp. "Sorry, but I said I'd have lunch with Marinette today."

"I won't take too too long. Besides, she looks busy right now."

"Uh, sorry, Lila. I gotta go, but anyone else in the class will be happy to help. See ya," said Adrien, before he made his way to Marinette.

"Hey, Marinette!" called Adrien. He saw Luka stop mid-sentence and look up.

Marinette turned. "Hey, Adrien!" she said with a smile before turning back to Luka.

"It was nice seeing you again, Luka. I gotta go. Bye!"

"Goodbye!" called Luka, as she walked toward Adrien. As they started towards her house, Marinette could feel an intense stare on her back.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien and Marinette sat in her room eating the food that her parents were kind enough to bring up for them.

"Thanks for inviting me over, Marinette."

"No problem. Thanks for coming."

"I'm glad I could! Your parents make wonderful food. I'm glad they let us eat up here."

He took another bite before asking, "What did you want to talk about? You seemed a little tense this morning."

"Right. Well, you see…" Marinette paused and took a breath, trying to calm herself and push down any doubts.

He put his hand on her shoulder and gave a slight squeeze before saying, "Hey, you know can trust me. Is something wrong?"

With that small reassurance, Marinette finally looked at him and said, "Adrien, I know I said I wouldn't try to expose Lila, but I can't just sit and do nothing." She quickly averted her gaze before continuing.

"I just need you to know that your friendship is everything to me, and even if I don't have it anymore I hope you don't think I'm a bad person."

"Marinette, I could never see you as a bad person, and I can't imagine not being your friend. You're our everyday Ladybug. But there's gotta be a better way than just outright exposing her. You know she's gonna make you look like the bad guy. Besides, what if she gets akumatized again?"

"She's already declared war, Adrien. She's already got a head start on making sure I lose all my friends and wind up all alone. It almost got _me_ akumatized, and it's a miracle that I found my resolve at the last second. At this point, what else can I do?"

"Wait a minute. Declared war? Are you serious?"

Marinette realized she may have revealed more than she intended to. For a moment, she looked hesitant to say anything else.

"Marinette, you know I'm on your side. That's why I don't want there to be any secrets between us right now."

She sat silent for a few more seconds, before she said, "Right before she became Chameleon, she followed me to the bathroom and said if I wasn't gonna be her friend then I wouldn't have any. But I was confident about finding a solution and about my friendships. I promised myself that no matter how difficult and frustrating it would be, I'd make sure everything turned out okay."

She took another breath before looking at him again. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Which is why I have to do this. At least she won't be able to hurt anyone with her lies anymore, even if I wind up alone," said Marinette. Even though she was close to breaking down, her strength and determination could be felt.

To her shock, she suddenly found herself in Adrien's embrace before he spoke quietly into her ear. "Marinette, with me by your side, you won't be akumatized, and you'll never be alone. But that's why we need to be smart and think of a better plan. It will be more effective and there will be less collateral damage."

Getting over her shock, Marinette finally hugged him back, resisting the urge to bury her face in his shoulder. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before slowly pulling away.

"And after all our planning and effort when there's still 'collateral damage'?" she asked.

"Well… Ladybug and Cat Noir are never too far away. They always save the day, and they never fail because they're a team!" said Adrien. His face flushed slightly as he continued. "So, trust me, please? I mean, even Ladybug needs backup."

Marinette saw a soft smile on his face, and gave one of her own, before she said, "And Ladybug would love to have you by her side, Adrien."


	3. Chapter 3

Nino was sitting in Marinette's seat as he chatted with Alya when they saw Marinette and Adrien walk into the classroom together.

"Hey, Marinette," greeted Alya with a smile. "Would you mind sitting with Adrien so Nino and I can sit together today?"

"Uh, sure. No problem, Alya," said Marinette with a nervous giggle as she and Adrien took their seats.

"Thanks, Marinette! You're the best," said Nino. "So how was lunch? You two ate together, right?"

"Yeah, it was great! We went to Marinette's and her parents cooked," said Adrien.

"That sounds nice. If you guys are gonna go again we might just tag along," said Alya. "So, you two do anything else during lunch?"

"Oh, no! We just talked, Alya," said Marinette as innocently as she could, undermined by the fact that she could feel her face heat up. Alya and Nino now sported identical grins.

"Oh, yeah? Talk about what?" asked Nino.

"It's kind of a secret," said Adrien, nervously chuckling as he began to feel his own blush.

"Oh, really? Well, we can keep a secret," said Alya.

"Adrien!" came Lila's voice. "There you are! Can I sit for a moment?"

Without waiting for an answer she sat on Adrien's other side. Adrien moved as close as he comfortably could to Marinette to put as much space between him and Lila as possible. The smiles on Alya's and Nino's faces were gone. The couple exchanged worried glances.

"I need to rest my legs. I've been preparing for the Paris Marathon, so I decided to take some time to work out and run during lunch," she said, just as Kim approached.

"Really? That's so cool!" said Kim. "But don't you have to be 18 to run?"

"Oh, yes! But my mother's good friend is one of the organizers who put in a good word for me. You know, Kim, I can ask to see if they can let you run too!"

Kim's face lit up. "That'd be awesome, Lila! Thank you."

Adrien barely kept a straight face. _How are people believing her claims so easily?_ He thought he could hear Marinette gritting her teeth. He took a hold of her hand and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Oh! That reminds me, Marinette. Do you think you could let me sit up front today? My contacts fell out while I was running, so I can't see the board right now."

"Actually, Marinette, you can sit here. I can sit in the back today," Adrien was quick to reply.

"Oh, no! I don't want to take your seat from you, Adrien. Plus I still need your help to catch up on schoolwork."

"Marinette, Alya, and Nino can help you, Lila."

"Dude, don't worry about it. Marinette you can have your seat back. I'll sit with Nathaniel," said Nino.

"Oh, but didn't you want to sit with your girlfriend, Nino?"

"Don't worry about it, Lila. As long as you can see the board we'll be fine," said Alya.

"Oh, Lila! If you need a seat in the front, you can have my seat next to Chloe," Sabrina said eagerly.

"You're so sweet, Sabrina. But I can't. I need to sit next to someone who can help me with schoolwork. Uh, no offense, Chloe."

"You say that as if I would want to help you with anything," said Chloe with a flip of her hair. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Um, okay. So, Marinette, if you please—" began Lila.

"Both of you can sit up front," interrupted Alya. "I'll sit in the back today."

"Alya, don't," said Lila, trying to stop her from collecting her things. "I don't want to give you any trouble. I'm sure Marinette can—"

"Lila, it's fine. No trouble. Just give me a minute."

"Marinette hasn't even unpacked yet! So she can just—"

"She sat in the back last time. So I'll do it today."

"But you shouldn't have to—"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" exclaimed Chloe. All eyes in the classroom watched her take her bag and make her way next to Nathaniel, who raised an eyebrow as she sat down. "You're all ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

* * *

To the readers of this story, sorry I haven't updated. Besides the issues of everyday life, even when I first started writing this story I realized I wasn't completely happy with the direction the show was going in. Maybe I'll watch it again someday, but for right now I'm just determined to write this story well and finish strong. Hope to finish the last chapter soon.


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